Little Birdy
by Streaks of Hail
Summary: Mary Sue Poots runs away from the orphanage and ends up meeting a Bambi-eyed, optimistic girl with a bright aspect on life and an enthusiasm towards science, and it turns out to be the beginning of a peculiar friendship. / Skimmons friendship, with FitzSimmons and SkyeWard.
1. Trick or Tweet

**SUMMARY**: Mary Sue Poots runs away from the orphanage and ends up meeting a Bambi-eyed, optimistic girl with a bright aspect on life and an enthusiasm towards science, and it turns out to be the beginning of a peculiar friendship. / Skimmons friendship, with FitzSimmons and SkyeWard.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: This idea sprung to me as I was writing up my one-shot Smiles, about the part where Skye used to go celebrate Halloween with another little girl from the orphanage, and I thought it would be sweet if Skye and Simmons did the same thing, and alas, Little Birdy was born. Also, I love the friendship between those two.

This is obviously an AU, where SHIELD doesn't exist and they all live in the same town and all seem to know each other. The younger kids are all friends, and Coulson and May are older and parents (or at least, Phil is).

I really love the concept of this idea, and have quite a streak of inspiration for this at the moment, so do let me know if you'd like some more, as I'll probably update some more little snippets at some point in time.

**LITTLE BIRDY**

Mary Sue Poots runs away one chilly autumn night, slipping out the windows easily (the matrons never really look at the window locks) and darting out into the cold night air.

She must look a sight to any passer-bys wandering down the street. A wild looking seven year old with flying brown hair and pyjamas that are definitely not fit for wandering down the alleyways in. She's freezing, but she continues on anyway, because for the first time Mary feels _free_.

And she knows that she'll be caught in the morning, that the matrons will force her to do some horrible chore as punishment such as washing the dishes or doing the laundry or something equally boring and dull. But for now the sense of freedom and adventure and _fun_ is all that matters, and so Mary Sue runs down the street carelessly and kicks away at the beautiful multi-coloured leaves that decorate the gutters and clog up the pathways.

She doesn't even allow the thought of being caught to cross her mind, but the streets are so empty at this time of night that it hardly matters anyway.

Her eyes glint as she spots a strangely bright colour amongst the leaves and she kneels to dig the object out, hardly bothered about the cleanliness of the situation. Mary must look a picture; a messily-kept little girl in her pyjamas, digging around in a pile of leaves for an old piece of junk.

Then again, she doesn't particularly care about what others think.

The object is a ball; one of those classic red rubber ones that people throw for their dogs to fetch. It looks a bit worn and smells a bit funny (like Sharpie and mothballs), but she picks it up all the same and throws it in the air as she wanders further.

But of course, being a tiny little seven year old clad in nothing but her sleepwear is bound to end up with numb fingers from the bitter cold, so of course the balls slips out of her grasp and rolls under the fence of a quaint little town house.

Mary frowns, debating on what to do. And then without a second thought, she creeps forward towards the fence. Poots has such few things to call her own, and she's not about to let this rare opportunity alone. Besides, this is like one of those stories that Mother Agatha reads. It's daring and new and _exciting_.

Stretching to her tip-toes, she tugs herself over the fence and scrambles onto the other side, falling to the ground with a tiny _oomph _upon landing.

It's as she's creeping towards her target with a grin that wariness takes over, and she snaps her head up to check the house. It looks occupied, with warm golden lights filing through the splits in the curtains, but she can hear the faint humming of the TV and the distant chatter of people.

For a moment, she feels a flicker of envy. What she would do to be inside that house, with a family of her own and a pretty house like this one. She half thinks about peeking in the window (just to have a look, of course), but decides against it and shuffles through the leaves to her prize.

She's just scooped it up with a grin when suddenly she hears a click from behind her and light suddenly floods the backyard.

Eyes wide in frozen fear, Mary whips around and clutches the ball protectively to her chest. In the door way is a girl about the same age as her, with fair brown hair curled into a neat bun. She's dressed in fawn-printed pyjamas, and her feet are tucked into yellow slippers. Her cheeks are flushed with warmth from inside, but her eyes shine with curiosity.

"Who are you?" The girl questions in a high-pitched voice. Her voice sounds funny, Mary decides. Different to everyone else.

Mary freezes and her eyes flicker to the fence. She could run away, but that would take too long and be really embarrassing. Besides, if Mary is anything, she's brave. So she lifts her head a little higher and hugs her possession tightly.

"I'm just getting my ball," she announces courageously.

The other girl looks suspicious, and she pads forward in her slippers to approach her, shuffling through the leaves in her dressing gown. Her eyes widen and Mary is immediately reminded of Bambi, the deer from that book that the older kids sometimes read on Sunday nights.

"Jack lost his rubber ball the other day," the girl says, eyeing up the ball. "He was really upset."

"Well, it's mine," Mary declares defiantly. That might be a teensy little lie, but she can't help it if this weird girl with her posh voice and pretty house wants to steal the ball from her. Without warning, the girl suddenly grabs the ball and studies it curiously.

After a moment, she smiles victoriously. "This _is_ Jack's ball," she moves her hand to show a smudged scrawl on the material, "see, it's got his initials on it and everything!"

Mary shuffles her feet and drops the act with a defeated sigh. "Sorry. It's just that I don't really have any toys of my own, and-"

She's cut off from a shout from inside the house. "Sweetie? Is everything okay outside?"

The girl - Mary decides to call her Bambi from now on - widens her eyes further and calls back sweetly, "sorry, mum! I think it's just the neighbour's cat!" With that settled, Bambi turns back to examine her curiously. She doesn't look mean, just inquisitive. She wonders why the girl didn't sell her out to her mom - after all, a random little girl in your backyard isn't a normal everyday thing.

"You don't have any toys of your own?" she echoes, clearly surprised.

Mary shrugs, shivering from the cold. "Not really."

Bambi blinks as she seems to dawn in realisation, eyes raking down her uniform. "You're from that orphanage down the road!" At her sheepish nod, the girl forges on with an elated expression. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you," Mary explains irritably. "I found the ball, and it slipped under the fence, and I just wanted to take it back with me because.." She trails off into another shrug.

Bambi stays silent for a while, but then she jolts into action. "Stay right here. I'll be right back!" She promises excitedly, and within moments she's gone. Mary Sue debates climbing over the fence and running off while she's got the chance, but there's nowhere else to go and she doesn't want to go back to the orphanage.

So she stays, and it's not long before Bambi is rushing back with a bundle in her arms. She holds a finger to her lips and says, "sshh. We have to keep quiet, my mum and dad don't know what I'm doing."

Poots wants to say that it's been _her_ making all the noise in the first place, but she shuts up anyway and blinks in surprise as Bambi presses several items into her hands.

The first is a fluffy, faded yellow dressing gown that reminds her of soft, downy fur. "You must be cold," the pyjama-clad girl chirps in explanation. "Here, you can keep it."

Mary stares in shocked bewilderment, threading the fabric through her hands in slight amazement. "You're letting me use your stuff? Won't your parents be mad?" she asks tentatively.

"Of course not! Daddy said he was going to throw it out anyway," she says brightly.

Still slightly stunned, she slips the gown on carefully. It warms her up almost instantly, and she feels like she's being hugged by a giant teddy bear when the fabric rubs against her arms. "Thank you," the orphaned girl begins, but Bambi is already speeding off onto another topic, stumbling over her words as she tries to explain everything at top speed.

"And here." Suddenly, a cookie slides her hands, and Bambi is smiling shyly at her. "I made them the other day. I hope you're not allergic to chocolate chip."

Mary smiles in response, a geniune, toothy smile. "Thanks."

"And last but not least," Bambi tugs a small wooden sculpture from her pocket and offers it out with a timid look. She makes Mary take it, and upon closer inspection she noticies that it's a intricately carved wooden bird.

"Huh?"

She regrets her choice of words immediately, but Bambi only grins and shuffles sheepishly. "You said you had no toys," she explains meekly. "So here's one. Mum always told me that it was nice to give gifts."

It takes Mary a while to respond, but eventually she grins. "Your mom must be nice."

"She is," the girl nods eagerly, before peeking uncertainly at her. "Do you like it?"

Mary gives Bambi a nod as her fingers close around the bird. "Yeah. Thanks."

She savours the taste of chocolate chip cookies as she blunders her way home, and although the matrons scold her heavily and confiscate the sleeping gown, Mary Sue manages to keep the bird hidden in her pyjama pocket, and that night she wonders on what it would be like to have a real friend.

...

The next day, she begs and begs the matrons. They're firm and stern, but eventually they crack and Mary gets what she wants. Coloured paper, patterned with pretty flowers and decorations.

She hides herself away in the closet and spends the next few hours perfecting her project. She's missed dinner before she finishes, and as soon as the sky turns dark she sneaks out again.

This time Mary keeps the route firmly in her head, memorising every turn and twist of the short trip down to Bambi's house. The streets are mostly empty, but the moon is full and the stars shine down, and she feels perfectly content as she wanders down the road.

She fully intends to just leave her gift on the doorstep and then retreat (would the park be scary at this time of night?), but as soon as she scrambles over the fence a familiar face pops out of nowhere and grins excitedly at her.

"I got the feeling you would come back," she cheers, her voice slightly hushed.

Mary smiles sheepishly, and holds out her project. Sitting in her palm is a slightly disfigured, crumpled origami bird. When Bambi blinks at it in surprise, she rushes to explain, "it's a bird. To say thanks. For the bird you gave me."

For a moment, she worries that Bambi will find her attempt at folding silly, but then the other girl smiles broadly and scoops it up gently. "It's so pretty! Thank you."

"You're welcome, Bambi." The words spill out of her mouth before she realises she's said them, and Bambi stares at her curiously.

"Bambi? My name's not Bambi."

"I know," Mary rushes to fill in hastily, feeling more than slightly embarrassed. "But I kind of.. make up nicknames for people, and you were wearing your deer pyjamas, and.." she trails off with a sheepish shrug. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Bambi says, and suddenly her smile is brighter than ever. "I like it. You can call me Bambi, if you want."

It's after they both exchange shy smiles that Bambi speaks again. "What's your name? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

It's then that Mary pauses. She's never liked her name - not at all, it bugs her beyond no end and she thinks it's silly. What if Bambi laughs at her? It turns out there's no need to worry, because as if reading her mind Bambi cradles the bird and smiles again. "It's okay. It can be a secret, alright? It'll be fun. You can call me Bambi, and I'll call you.."

They both pause to think, and eventually Bambi lifts up the bird to pretend it's swooping across the sky.

"Skye," she decides. "Because then I can say that I got this bird from the Skye. Is that okay?"

Her eyes gleam and she nods, because that's possibly the best name she's ever heard. "Yeah. Yeah, that's okay."

...

Days fly by, and soon their peculiar meeting blossoms up into a strange (but rather nice) friendship. Bambi's the first proper friend Mary's ever had, and Mary's one of Bambi's greatest adventurers.

Eventually, Bambi's parents find out about Mary, but that's okay because they accept her with welcoming arms and warm smiles. And although Bambi's mother often invites her in for cookies and milk, the two often find themselves enjoying the thrill of secret night adventures more than normal playdates.

When Mary turns ten, a kind man comes in to ask for adoption. She finds him barely tolerable at first (ugh, why doesn't he understand that she doesn't _want_ to take ballet?), but eventually she warms up to him (should she call him Phil or Dad?) and his 'friend' (she thinks that they're secretly married) Melinda, who refuses to be called anything but May.

Phil encourages her friendship with Bambi and seems to like her (although he did have a confusing moment on what to call her, but that's a story for another time), and soon enough she's going around for sleepovers and fun afternoons of stirring up trouble.

She even gets her name legally changed - to Skye. Bambi's utterly shocked, but Skye liked that name better anyway.

They head to the same primary school, and for a while Skye's life is perfect.

One autumn day, her and Bambi sneak out on a Sunday night to visit the park. It's the first of October and brightly coloured leaves litter the ground. It reminds her of the time they first met, not all but two years ago, and she drags Bambi across to the swing set to play.

They giggle for a while, pushing each other up and down on the swings and enjoying the vacancy of the playground so late at night. Bambi worries a bit, but Skye's used to it by now and she knows just the right words to guile her friend into doing whatever she wants.

"Do you remember when we met?" Skye asks suddenly, letting her lips curve into a smile as her swing slips into unison with Bambi's, and the breeze whistles through her wild hair. She recalls that event three years ago with absolutely no difficulty at all.

"Yeah," Bambi smiles in return, kicking her feet up and down to propel her higher. "You looked like a little hedgehog."

"I did not!" she defends, but they both burst into laughter anyway.

"It's Halloween tomorrow," Bambi continues when the laughter finally echoes away.

"Yeah," Skye agrees, a tad quieter. "I've never celebrated it, not really." Of course, Skye's seen the heavily-costumed trick-or-treaters from her window back at the orphanage, and the day after she normally scavanged the streets for dropped sweets to hoard. The older kids used to drape themselves in the white linen sheets and spend the day pretending ro be ghosts. But she's never _really_ celebrated it. She doesn't know whether Phil will celebrate it either - it's her first year with him.

"We should go together," Bambi announces, eyes bright with the sudden spark of inspiration.

"Really?" Skye can't help but blink in surprise, halting the swing to a gentle sway.

"Yeah," she nods eagerly. "Halloween's the best! It's the only holiday when mum and dad let me have so much candy. We could dress up and go around the houses! I'm sure your dad would let you."

"He's not my dad, and he'll never say yes," Skye mutters, but Bambi either doesn't hear or ignores her statement, because she's chattering excitedly about all the different costumes they could pull together.

Phil doesn't want her to go at first, but May rolls her eyes and points out that she won't come to harm, and then she's off to discuss costumes.

She ends up going as a devil, and Bambi as an angel, the perfect combination. They trick or treat and get a sugar-hype, and it's the beginning of many more shared Halloweens to come.

It becomes almost tradition, really. Every Halloween, she goes as a devil and her as an angel, and it's the highlight of the year.

...

Soon enough they hit thirteen years of age and they're off to different schools. Skye attends a plain (nice, but very ordinary) school in town where she finds herself incredibly bored but still struggling to do well academically. It's not that she's not smart, it's that she doesn't really have the attention span or simple will to do well at school, and so there she stays.

Bambi, on the other hand, excels at schoolwork. She's always been the top of the class, light years ahead of anyone else in the year group and even occasionally surpassing the ordinary primary school teachers. Because of this, she's offered a scholarship to a fancy boarding school that she can't pass up, and soon they're seperated for most of the year.

Skye makes other friends, of course (a guy named Grant who she might have a teensy crush on, and a couple of other kids like Tripp - who only goes by his last name -, Bobbi and Lance), and she has no doubt Bambi makes friends as well, but it's not quite the same same as the dynamic friendship that they used to have.

They still keep in contact, of course, and their Halloween tradition stays the same.

No matter what comes up, spending Halloween together is _never_ pushed aside. They always wear the same thing, visit the same houses. It's an unspoken oath, one never to be broken until the end of the time.

That is, until they're fifteen, and Skye finally learns Bambi's real name.

...

That spooky Halloween night, Skye spends quite a while planning her costume. To say she's excited is an understatement. She hasn't seen Bambi in quite a while, and Halloween is the perfect opportunity to catch up. A part of her is slightly disappointed - Grant's throwing a killer Halloween party, one that she's kindly declined - but she's mostly just glad to see her friend again.

She dons her usual devil costume and slips down to the Bambi's house with the tiny wooden bird clutched in her hand.

She climbs over the fence as per usual and hovers in the front yard with an excited smile. The garden is decorated with a pure spooky theme; there's fake spiders and fairy lights and pumpkins galore - but no zombies because Bambi's afraid of them.

The door opens a crack, and Skye grins. But then it falters, because she hears something rather strange. Bambi is laughing, and although the words are muffled she can hear them clearly.

"Don't be silly, Fitz! Of course ghosts aren't real." There's another muffled giggle, and then she continues, "no, we can't name it Caspar."

There's another voice, a _boy's_ voice. "But-"

And then the door swings open, and Skye gets a full view of the boy in question - a young looking boy with curly hair and half a face full of make-up. He freezes, clearly startled, and opens his mouth. "Jemma? Are you expecting someone?"

"Hmm? No, why?"

"There's uh.. there's someone here," the kid mutters awkwardly.

And then Bambi's head pops up, and everything falls into place for Skye. Bambi's real name is Jemma, and she's got a new friend, and clearly she's not going for Halloween with Skye because she's dressed as a cat. A _cat_, of all things.

But Skye can't voice any of this, so instead she holds out the bag that Bambi had given her once upon a time. "I just wanted to return this."

She escapes quickly afterwards, and spends her afternoon with her friends at Grant's party.

...

Skye gets a call from Bambi - _Jemma_, she corrects herself - the next day, asking her if they want to meet up at the park for a chat, like old times.

She has to cancel a date (okay, not a date, but close enough) with Grant, but she does it anyway because right now her friendship is more important than getting a possible date with Grant. When she informs him of it over the phone, he sighs audibly, and she suddenly feels incredibly guilty.

"I'm sorry."

"That's okay, rookie."

She smiles at the nickname, and she can just imagine his expression. "It's just that I haven't seen her in a while, and.."

"Are you sure that she still wants to be friends with you?" And that's when Grant voices her fears, and she tightens her expression. "I mean, not to sound mean or anything, but.. She blew you off for Halloween. That's a big deal to you, right?"

"Yeah," she answers tightly, swallowing as she thinks over it. "I'm sure she just forgot or something, anyway. Look, can we go another time or something?" Her voice sounds false even in her own ears, and by the sound of it Grant doesn't believe her either.

"Okay," his voice crackles over the phone eventually, "if you say so. Just.. call if you need a ride or something. And yeah, we can go another time. Me and Bobbi were wanting to see a movie anyway."

Skye pushes down a bubble of jealousy, and nods even though she knows he can't see her. "Thanks, Grant."

The phone clicks when she hangs up, and she slips the device into her pocket for safe-keeping on her way to the park. Despite the strange feeling of dread, having Grant only a phone call away makes her feel slightly better about the whole situation.

...

Bambi - or is she Jemma now? - sits on a swing, swaying back and forth gently, digging her toes into the ground as she rocks. She looks up as Skye approaches, and offers a tentative smile.

Skye returns it (although it's somewhat awkward), and sits herself on the swing beside her.

"I'm sorry," Bambi begins hastily. And although her words are rushed, Skye can tell that she's being genuine. Besides, she knows for a fact that her friend can't lie to save her life.

"I know," she nods, but Bambi forges on over her response.

"It's just that we haven't talked for so long now, and Fitz is really sweet and he's just becoming my friend and I thought it would be a good idea and I didn't even think about the fact that you would want to come as well and-" Her word's rush out in one long stream of babbles, and Skye stops her with a smile.

"I know! It's okay. I get it."

Bambi pauses then, and her eyes flicker up hopefully. "So I'm forgiven?"

"Of course you're forgiven," Skye laughs, and she reaches forward to slink her arm's around Bambi's for a side hug around the swing chains. "It's just Halloween, after all."

"But Halloween's important," her friend grins timidly, and Skye suddenly feels like everything is back to normal and perfect once again. Because she's realised that while Bambi is her best friend and no one else can compare, she has other friends too, ones that love her and support her through everything. And Bambi must feel the same way.

Skye can't resist the urge to smirk as she leans back in her swing. "Is Fitz his name, huh? Do you like him?"

Bambi rolls her eyes and swats at Skye's arm playfully, her cheeks dusting pink in a way that only Skye would be able to tell. "Of course not! As a friend, of course. He's the only one in my class who can even begin to understand my concept of thinking."

"So sophisticated," Skye teases, but she really is happy for Bambi. "I'm glad you're friends. You'll have to introduce me to him one day. Maybe we can go Halloweening together next year?" They both laugh at that, and the sound echoes around the park and carries into the breeze. "So, Miss Popular. Any other friends I should know about? A boyfriend, maybe?"

"No," Bambi admits shyly, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm not that popular, actually. It was just me for the longest time. People liked me, but they're not real friends, you know?"

Skye knows all too well.

"They think that I'm too smart."

"Does anyone bully you?" Skye's defences raise instinctively, and she's relieved to see her friend shake her head quickly.

"No! Well, not much. But that's okay, it's better now. Me and Fitz used to have this rivalry, but it's better now. We're friends."

They fall into a comfortable silence for a long time, and Skye uses that pause to think that maybe, her worries and social life hadn't quite been as bad as her friends.

"When you get some free time, I'm taking you to meet my friends," Skye promises, before they lapse into quiet once again.

The sun's just going down when she finally speaks again, with a tiny smile. "Should I start calling you Jemma now?"

"What?" Bambi's face morphs into surprise, but then she relaxes again. "If you'd like. I think everyone's getting rather confused, actually. But if you'd like to keep calling me Bambi.."

Skye pauses then to examine her friend. It's then that she realises that perhaps her friend has outgrown the look of childish, naive Bambi, and instead become better. She suits the name Jemma, Skye decides.

"Nah. I think we outgrew that anyway," Skye says finally, throwing her a grin, "Jemma."

And although Bambi isn't really Bambi anymore, that doesn't mean that she's any less of her friend anymore, right?

"I guess we should change up our Halloween costumes next year?" Skye suggests.

At that Bambi - no, _Jemma_ - laughs openly. "I think some things we will never get too old for, Skye."


	2. Of Bowling Escapades and Cookie-Boys

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: Just a sweet little chapter - hopefully it's likeable enough.

**OF BOWLING ESCAPADES AND COOKIE-BOY**

"Please, Jemma?"

Skye's been trying to bug her best friend for practically the entire day, and unsurprisingly, she's found that Jemma Simmons is not an easy girl to crack. But perhaps that just makes things a whole lot worse, because Skye Coulson isn't exactly one to give up. And so the war continues, back and forth.

"No, Skye," her friend says calmly, plucking up her pen and switching back and forth between her laptop and her various study books. "For the last time, you are not meeting Fitz."

"Why not?" She sounds whiney and she knows it, but Skye's honestly beyond caring at the moment. Seriously, how does Jemma keep up under the constant pressure? She hasn't done anything about her annoyance except continue to study. Honestly, she has no idea how Jemma can keep up at her fancy schmancy private school. They get so much work it's not even funny.

"Because, Skye," Jemma continues patiently, "you'll scare him. He's still traumatised from Halloween, you know."

"Yeah, but that was different! Besides, he knows I'm better than that, right?" Skye props herself up on the pillows stacked on her bed, reaching to grab a cookie from the tin container. They're a gift from Mrs Simmons - Daddy Phil is good at many things, but baking is not one of them.

"He knows about the time you hacked into your school systems, Skye," Simmons sighs, finally dropping her pen and spinning around in the chair.

"I just wanted to check my results, that's all," Skye defends quickly, taking a bite from her sugary treat and taking a moment to savour the taste. Jemma only shakes her head and hops out of the chair, gesturing for a cookie of her own. Skye palms one into her hand obediently, and soon they're perched on the window seat licking the crumbs off of their fingers.

"Okay," Jemma says finally.

Skye's spirits lift, and she cracks a bright grin at her friend. "Really?" If she'd known sugar would be the best route to agreement, she would have given Jemma a cookie a long time ago.

"Yeah," the fellow fifteen year old nods, a smile on her own lips. "If you let me see your friends too."

"What? You want to see my friends?" The tone of surprise is evident in her voice, and Jemma nods like it's the most normal thing in the world (which, now that Skye actually thinks about it, is actual quite true).

"You want to meet Fitz, I want to meet your friends. Do you have a problem with that? A boyfriend you're hiding, maybe?" Jemma teases lightly. It's not something the other girl does often, but it's nice when she does.

Skye's mind flashes to Grant Ward (the guy who she might have a teensy tiny little crush on) for no apparent reason, and she laughs openly, reaching to pluck a grape from the snack bowl. "Jemma Simmons," she giggles, "when did you become so demanding?"

Her friend only shrugs in response, and they laugh the afternoon away.

...

Later, when Jemma's gone back home and the sky is starting to turn dark, Skye excuses herself from dinner early and races upstairs to her cellphone - something that greatly confuses Phil but doesn't seem to faze May (who seems to be over for dinner all the time now) at all.

It only take three rings before the other end picks up, and Skye grins automatically at the voice who answers.

"Rookie?" It's become something of a fond little nickname now (and she's starting to like it, although she'll never admit it to anyone, especially not supremely popular good-at-everything Grant Ward), ever since Grant had found out that she had no clue whatsoever on how to play chess. It wasn't like they'd ever taught such things at St Agnes, anyway.

"I kind of need your help, Grant," she says, almost apologetic in her tone. Although not entirely - she's still far too excited about the whole idea.

"What did you do now, Skye?" She can almost imagine his exasperated sigh from her own home, and she smiles to herself, eyes flickering out the window instinctively as a bird flutters past.

"Nothing!" Skye defends indignantly. Honestly, why does everyone think she's up to no good? _It's like no one trusts me._ "Just.. are you free on Saturday?" As soon as the words fly out of her mouth, she regrets it, because it sounds too much like she's asking him out on a date, and she's just waiting for him to call her out, but-

"Yeah," comes the simple reply, "Why?"

"Oh. Great," she breathes a sigh of relief to herself before soldering on rapidly. She can practically feel the waves of confusion through the cellphone. "Because, well.. you know my friend?"

"Bambi?" Grant's tone is unmistable surprise. "You made up with her, right?"

"Yeah, it's, um, actually Jemma. Not Bambi. Thanks for that, by the way," Skye brushes it off quickly, dropping herself onto her bed and splaying out on the covers lazily. Her fingers go to clutch at the familiar wooden bird that sits in it's special spot on her bedside table, the special gift from so very long ago. "Anyway, I want you to meet her."

"You want me to meet her?"

"Yeah," Skye nods far too earnestly. "Well, not just you. You can bring Trip as well. Oh, and Bobbi and Lance." That is, if they can keep it together for just a few seconds in a room together. Seriously, it's like the place is about to implode everytime Bobbi and Lance are near each other. Sometimes, Skye isn't really sure whether it's hate or some really weird form of love.

"Okay.."

Grant still seems totally lost, so Skye finds it in her to explain impatiently, "Jemma won't let me see her friend, so I made a bargain. I meet her friend, but only if she meets mine. Easy, right?"

Grant is slow to respond. "And.. I'm your friend?"

There's a dead silence for a moment, because Skye honestly doesn't know. She'd thought Grant was her friend, but... "Yeah?" she says, but it comes out more like a question than anything else.

"I'll be there," is his only response.

...

Skye's all loose hair and excited nerves, messing around with her fringe and huffing in annoyance whenever it slips down in the way of her vision. Maybe May is right - she does need to get a hair cut sooner or later. Nevertheless, it's the very last thing on her mind at the moment because she's far too excited. Jemma and her friends are finally going to get to know each other. If it had been anyone else, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but to Skye it meant the entire world.

"Skye, are you sure about this?" Jemma pipes up nervously from beside her, and she can't help but grin at the state of nervousness Bambi's in. Her friend's been fretting all morning, and Skye can't possibly fathom why. After all, they're just her friends, right? Not the _king_ or anything. But she doesn't think that little piece of information will help at all, so she turns to face Jemma instead and offers a fleeting smile.

"For the last time, yes! They're not going to bite, I promise. Besides, it's just bowling. How much trouble could we possibly get into?" At Jemma's movements to reply, Skye adds hastily, "Anyways, you were the one who suggested this idea."

"I thought it was a good idea at the time," Jemma admits rather unashamedly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear - as she always does whenever she's nervous or unsure about herself. Skye's noticed it more than once. "It's just.. You know that I don't fit in well with these types of people, Skye. It's always been like that."

It's then that Skye catches a glimpse of something else in Jemma's hesitant poise, and her eyes flash suspiciously. "At the park the other day, you said something about bullying. Jemma, if something's going on-"

She never gets the chance to answer, because there's a loud call to interrupt, and then several familiar faces pop up out of the blue. Not all is forgotten, but Skye saves the questioning for later and waves to her friends, her fingers frigid from the cold. It's a chilly day, late autumn and crossing into winter. Despite the fact that she's wearing winter-appropriate clothes, the cold still sneaks its way in and she just wants to hurry up and get inside.

"Sorry we're late," Bobbi announces as they draw to a stop. She rolls her eyes and sends an exasperated look to her right. "Lance held us up."

"Hey, you are not just pinning this on me! Just because _my_ shoe went missing," Lance shoots back, looking incredulous. Skye has to hide her laugh behind her hands, and even her nervous friend looks amused.

"Oh, please," Bobbi scoffs, crossing her arms. "Like you didn't lose them yourself. This happens every time, Hunter! We go somewhere and there's always-"

"Guys," Grant's voice cut through admist the quickly sparking argument, his eyes flicking between Lance and Bobbi simultaneously. "Can we save it?"

"Yeah," Trip nods in agreement. "There's a whole bowling alley to explore, and I'm freezing like hell out here."

Skye grins happily at their antics, before suddenly remembering the whole reason why she's here. Nudging Jemma easily with her shoulder, she announces, "this is Jemma, my friend. Jemma, these are my friends, Bobbi, Lance, Trip and Grant."

"Nice to meet you, Jemma," they all greet in their various ways. Bobbi grins, Lance tips an imaginary hat, Trip smiles and Grant nods. Jemma only smiles timidly and waves in return.

"They're a pain in the butt, but they're cool once you get to know them," Skye continues mischeviously - partly to lighten the air, but mostly to reassure Jemma, who's looking slightly uncomfortable.

"I don't know if that's an insult or a compliment," Lance says as he pushes open the door to the bowling alley and flashes his teeth in a smirk, "so I'm gonna take it as both. Let's head inside, shall we?"

"Oh, definitely an insult," Bobbi can't help but snipe on her way in, something which only starts up another round of heavy bickering as Grant and Trip follow them in with a roll of their eyes. Skye's about to trapse after them when she sees Jemma hovering hesitantly at the entrance.

"Come on," she urges confidently. "They're nice, I promise. I know you're nervous, but don't you trust me to make good friends?"

"Well," Jemma begins, "I still remember what happened with Bernie-"

"We don't speak of Bernie," Skye mutters darkly, but her tone combined with the inside joke is so ridiculous that they both end up laughing.

"Lance and Bobbi," she starts up again, after she's done wiping away tears of laughter, "Are they a.."

"A thing?" Skye suggests. At Jemma's nod, she throws her head back in laughter and shrugs. "Who knows, with them. C'mon, Bambi. What harm can it do? You can torture me with Fitz, if that makes you feel any better."

This time, Jemma doesn't hesitate.

...

By their third game, Skye's sweating - and she's hardly leaving her seat anymore. After all, she's hardly doing anything anymore - Grant's doing all the hard work for her team.

They've decided to split into teams, Bobbi with Lance, Skye and Grant and surprisingly, Trip and Simmons. Trip had been surprisingly eager to have Jemma on her team, and judging by the way she's laughing, she doesn't seem to mind either.

The first few games had been pretty even, but eventually it was obvious that Grant and Bobbi were out-throwing everyone else. Eventually, everyone had drifted back to the seats with drinks and snacks, perfectly content with watching Grant and Bobbi throw for them. Despite the fact that Triplett and Jemma have no hope of redeeming themselves, it doesn't seem to bother them too much.

When Skye sneaks a quick look at them, Jemma's swirling a straw around her lemonade and flushing, and Trip is laughing at something and offering her some chips. Skye finds it rather heartwarming, to be truthful. She's glad that Jemma's getting along with at least one of her friends.

"Smash 'im, Bobbi!" Of course, her thoughts can't go undisturbed for long, and soon her and Lance are having a battle of who can cheer the loudest.

It's safe to say that the other bowlers are not pleased.

...

"He likes you," Skye teases.

Her and Jemma are on the short walk back home, kicking through brown and red leaves and hugging their coats closer to each other. The wind stings sharply, but Skye's far too interested with her friend's love life.

"Of course he likes me," Jemma smiles, rolling her eyes at Skye like she's being silly and not anywhere close to her intelligence level (which she isn't - Skye still suspects that her friend is secretly a computer). "I like him too. He's friendly, isn't he?"

It's then that Skye groans at Jemma's total and complete innocence. "No," she corrects, giving her friend a sly smirk. "I mean, he _likes_ you."

"Don't be silly," Jemma chides, far too quick to try and abolish the thought from Skye's mind. Her cheeks are flushed red, but Skye can't tell whether it's from cold or embarrassment. "He was just being nice to me, that's all."

"Come_ on_," Skye continues mercilessly, giving her friend a playful shove as she pracyically skips down the pathway. "Trip totally likes you! He's cute too, you should go with it."

"Skye," - _yep, she's totally blushing_, - "he was just being friendly! Besides, I haven't gone out with anyone since... well... Howards." if it's possible, Jemma gets even more embarrassed.

"Jack?" Skye gapes, her mouth falling open and the incredulousness seeping through. "You went out with Jack Howards? Red-rubber-ball-that-slipped-under-the-fence Jack? _Jemma_! Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was just a one-time thing," Jemma defends, shrinking into her jacket. "It was more of an accident, really. Sally Webber - girl from my class - dared me to kiss him."

"You played Truth or Dare?" Honestly, Skye isn't sure what shocks her more.

"Yes, Skye!" Jemma snaps, looking surprisingly indignant. "In case you aren't aware, we don't just sit in the classroom eating paste."

"Sorry," Skye backpedals quickly and holds her hands up in a sign of surrender, but she's grinning all the same. "Jemma Simmons! You certainly get around, don't you?" Her teasing is relentless, but it's okay because she knows how much her friend can take and how far she's allowed to go. "What about this Fitz you keep mentioning? Get to him yet?"

Jemma rolls her eyes, but the effect is wasted because her face is still tinged with a pink flush. "We're just friends, Skye."

"Then there's no reason not to go for Trip," she declares happily, nudging her friend and kicking at a pile of leaves. The leaves flutter across the road in a flurry of gold, red and brown, and Skye can't help but smile. Autumn is undoubtedly her favourite season of the year.

"He's just being friendly," Jemma protests, a good-natured groan slipping into her tone of voice.

"A little_ too_ friendly, if you ask me."

"Skye!"

"He likes you!" she sing-songs on repeat, all the way home until Jemma looks like she's about to push her out into the middle of the road.

...

Skye's late. She's expecting a whole speech from Jemma, but it turns out to be okay because everyone else is late too.

Jemma's house is pleasantly warm. Skye's always gotten a sense of coziness from the Simmons household. You can even call it security, perhaps. It isn't just because her friend's there (although that's certainly a big part of it), but because the house brings back memories. Recollections of when they both made a pact to run away and ended up hiding in the closet for three hours until Mrs Simmons got a fright while searching for her misplaced vaccuum cleaner. Or the time when they tried to bake cookies for the school Christmas bake-off and ended up in giggles with frosted noses and flour-dusted hair.

This time though, it's slightly different. A mouth-watering scent drifts through the house, and Jemma's only explanation is 'dinner'.

It's not far off from Christmas now, and in honour the Simmons family are throwing an early Christmas party, something which Skye's excited and yet nervous about all in the same breath. Jemma's mom smiles at her when the two girls go to raid some snacks from the pantry, and it's then that Skye almost wishes she had a maternal figure in her weird little family. She supposes May could suffice - she's around every other day anyway -, but she's not exactly one to bake cookies and quiz her daughter about boys and schoolwork.

"You look nervous, dear," Mrs Simmons smiles kindly at her, as if to prove her point. "Fitz isn't scary, if that's what you're worried about. Nor are any of our other guests. He's a darling, honestly. Jem's taken a liking to him, that's for certain. What about you? Any friends? Or boyfriends, maybe?"

Jemma flushes quite obviously, but Skye laughs and cradles her hand around one of the mugs of steaming hot chocolate that Mrs Simmons hands out. "No boyfriends, Mrs Simmons."

And the truth is, she's not nervous. Or at least, not about meeting Fitz. If Jemma likes him, Skye's determined to be friends with him too. But she's mostly just worried about him sapping Jemma's attention. She knows it's selfish and mean and kind of childish.. but she doesn't like sharing. Best friends are hard to come by, especially ones like Jemma Simmons.

Jemma looks more than relieved when the doorbell rings, and soon they're scampering down the halls to open the door.

It's that familiar curly-haired boy that she saw briefly at Halloween. He smiles sheepishly and holding out a mishapen present. "Merry early Christmas, Jemma."

"Oh, you didn't have to, Fitz," Jemma smiles, and throws her arms around him in a hug. He looks awkward - and far too much like a little boy. Skye's not entirely sure whether to coo or scoff.

She settles for silence instead, and wonders what gift Fitz got for the Simmons'. Neither of them seems to notice her.

...

Surprisingly, Jemma's one of the stars of the party. She's constantly being whisked away to talk to some new guests and marvel at some Christmas presents. The house is packed now, guests spilling all through the rooms and people hurrying to move the decorations inside to save them from the snow that's rapidly picking up.

Finding herself alone without Jemma - after all, she doesn't know anyone here - Skye drifts to lean against the wall, simply enjoying the atmosphere. To pass time away, she looks at photos. A lot of them are of Jemma - when she was a baby, on her third birthday. Her first day at Kindergarten. Skye wishes she had some baby photos to share. But unless you count the mug-shotesque report photo from her adoption forms, there's nothing.

She's about to pluck the last famous Simmons cookie from the bowl when another hand reaches for it at the same time, and she finds Mr Jemma-Simmons's-Best-Friend Fitz looking awkward.

"Sorry." His voice is Scottish, and Skye almost smiles at the thought of Jemma brightening to find someone else like her in a country full of Americans.

"It's okay," she shrugs, and retracts her hand from the bowl. "You can have it. I get these all the time, anyway."

Fitz's eyes suddenly spark in recognition, but he doesn't take the biscuit. "You're Skye, right? Mr Coulson's daughter?"

"Yeah," Skye says slowly, frowning at Fitz. How on Earth does he know that? _Oh god_, Jemma hasn't made friends with a stalker, has she? "What's that to you?"

"Oh, nothing," Fitz mumbles, suddenly looking incredibly self-conscious. "It's just that he visited our school once."

That piques Skye's curiosty, and she blinks at him, suddenly interested. "Did he mention me?"

"Um, kind of. I mostly got it from Jemma, actually," Fitz admits.

"She talks about me?"

Fitz nods, and the conversation seems to grind to a halt as they sit in uncomfortable silence. His hand lingers in the bowl awkwardly, and Skye resists the uncontrollable urge to laugh.

"You know I said you could have that cookie, right?" she points out, eyeing his hand.

Fitz jerks to action immediately, looking strangely indignant. "Yeah, well-"

It's then that Jemma skips up to them, a bright smile on her face and a happy aura about her. "Everyone's so nice," she chirps, looking to each of them earnestly. "Are you guys okay?"

"Everything's going great," Skye answers, just as Fitz adds, "Yeah, good."

The two exchange a strange look, and Jemma looks bewildered. "Well.. okay."

"Here," Fitz finally draws his hand from the bowl. "Have a cookie."

Skye decides that she quite likes Fitz.

...

When everyone's gone home, and it's just her and Jemma chilling in her room - just like the good old times - Skye picks at the quilt covers of Jemma's bed, her eyes skimming across the tiny framed origami bird sat on the bedside table. Skye recognises it all too well - she still remembers the struggles of learning how to fold it right.

"I don't know what you see in him," Skye declares, splaying herself out on the bed and tilting her head to stare out the window.

Instead of taking offence, Jemma only smiles. "He's nice, Skye. Sweet, even," she insists persistently.

"He's weird," Skye responds, pulling a face. At her friend's chatising look, she sighs and props herself up on her eyebrows. "Okay, okay. I guess he's fine, I just don't see what's so interesting about him."

"It takes a while for him to warm up," Jemma replies with a nod of considerate agreement. "He hated me for the longest time. Couldn't tolerate me. You'll like him soon enough."

"You like him?" A grin sparks up, and Skye waggles her eyebrows suggestively.

Jemma throws a pillow at her, rolling her eyes. "I don't know.. he's one of those people who just kind of.. grows on you, you know?"

Skye doesn't know, but she nods innocently anyway. Jemma sees right through her (as always) but all she does is laugh. "Like you, Skye. Intolerable, but you're always there."

"Oh c'mon," Skye smirks, "You know you love me."

She accepts Jemma's rolling of eyes as a confirmation and she grins wildly again. She'd been stupid to think that their friendship could be broken so easily.

"Speaking of love," Skye starts slowly, trying to act subtle (and failing miserably), as she attempts to become incredibly interested in the state of her fingernail. "I may or may not have spoken to Triplett.."

"Skye!"

"-and I may have mentioned something about you coming along for a rematch game of bowling?"

"Oh, Skye." She's fully expecting a rejection, some excuse from Jemma to get out of it. After all, she would understand. Her friends can be rather rowdy, and she knows Jemma gets rather nervous sometimes, and she'd be completely fine with it, only she really wants everyone all to be friends, and-"

"I've promised Fitz that I would study with him that day."

Skye's features fall suddenly, but she plays it off like nothing. "Oh. That's okay, I mean-"

"-but maybe Fitz could come along?"

It's not perfect, but it's a compromise and it's good enough (even if she's not entirely sure on Cookie-Boy Fitz), so she grins and nods.

"Deal. But really, you should so ask Trip-"

"Skye! We are not having this discussion!"

"Sorry!"

But she's not, really. Not even a little bit, because the future is bright and happy and so.. cheerful, now that everything's sorted out, and-

"Shoot!" It's then that she shoots to her feet, eyes bright.

"What?" Jemma's clearly startled.

"I forgot that I had to meet up with Grant!"

Skye's so busy flying down the stairs and out the door that she misses Jemma's knowing smile. She doesn't, however, miss the teasing shout as she's leaving.

"Have fun with Grant!"

The triumphant tone is so obvious that Skye only throws an abandoned hair clip at her as she struggles to pull her boots on. "Shut up, Bambi!"


	3. Caramel

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Here we are, yet another little chapter. It's been a while in coming, I know, but it's been Christmas, so... forgive me? At any rate, here we have a slightly more shippy chapter. The actual dates should be next chapter, so look forward to those. Also, would you guys be up for a Jemma chapter, instead of a Skye one? I think it'll be fun to switch it up a little bit.

Also, I'm trying to stick to canon events (only I'm making them AU, of course), so do beware of spoilers in upcoming chapters. I'll put warnings on those particular chapters, anyway.

Beware of slight swearing in this chapter, if you don't like that then please feel free to skim over it. Thanks, and enjoy! I love writing about these cuties.

**CARAMEL**

"So.. uh.. I was wondering if you wanted to go out somewhere with me. As.. as more then friends."

Skye's never seen Grant Douglas Ward so awkward in her entire life. Then again, she's never exactly been asked out by him either. Honestly, she'd just been expecting to have some fun at the park when Grant had called her up and queried whether she wanted to come and hang out with him and his friends. Although Skye can't deny that she does have a teensy, tiny little crush on him (never mind the fact that his name brings a smile to her lips, and the fact that Jemma is_ still_ teasing her over that one time she'd raged over Grant's girlfriend), it's never even occurred to her that he might perhaps feel the same way.

So it's completely natural that her first reaction is surprise, right. "What? Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Actually, we broke up a couple of days ago," Grant admits, now looking slightly hesitant. "But if you don't want to.."

"Of course I want to," Skye blurts out without quite meaning to, and she finds herself smiling at him when he looks at her in obvious surprise. "But won't.." it takes a moment to recall her name, "Michelle be annoyed? That you went on a date with someone else so soon after her? Because I like you - I do," _hmm.. this isn't as hard to admit as I imagined in my mind_, "but I'm not ready to be caught in between more drama."

And there's been enough of drama lately. In fact, she and Jemma had even fought over it - but more on that on a later date.

"We both decided that it.. wasn't really right for us," Grant says, still looking slightly uneasy. Skye has to resist from laughing - because it's almost adorable, and if there's one thing Grant is, it's not adorable. "I think she's going out with Hill's brother, anyway."

Well, that puts a little bit of a damper on her mood.

But nothing can get over the fact that _Grant Ward_ just asked her, _Skye Coulson,_ out, so she gives him a wide, elated smile instead. "So it's a date, then?" She has to admit, it sounds even more exciting now that she's actually said it.

"I'll text you the details," Grant grins back, and Skye's pretty sure the bubbly feeling in her stomach and her foolish grin on her face are never going to go away.

...

"Jemma!" she calls excitedly as soon as her friend picks up the phone.

"Skye?" comes Jemma's confused voice through the phone, sounding utterly bewildered. "Is something wrong? I'm just doing some homework now, so if-"

"It's something really important," Skye announces grandly, hoping that her voice is enough to portray her excitement through the phone. "Like, _super_ important."

"Oh god." Jemma's voice is slightly crackly through the phone, as if she's been moving around a lot - _knowing her, she's probably pacing over something stupid like an answer to her unimportant homework,_ Skye thinks exasperatedly to herself, rolling her eyes to accompany her thoughts. "Has someone died?"

"_What_?" Skye exclaims, scrunching her features up into one of disbelief. "No one's _died_, Jemma!"

"Oh. Right. Of course, I don't know what I was thinking," Jemma stutters - at least she sounds appropriately sheepish. "So, what actually did happen?"

"Just.. come over to my house, okay? I'll tell you when you get here," she decides quickly, flicking her gaze up to the lime green clock (a long ago Christmas gift from Coulson) that sits neatly on her bedroom dresser.

"Wait, Skye! I have so much homework to do," her friend protests, obviously fretting by the way her voice is higher-pitched than normal (although whether it's from worry or embarrassment, she can't quite tell). "I've got assignments to complete, and there's exams coming up very shortly, not to mention-

Not for the first time, Skye's suddenly glad that she doesn't go to a school like Jemma's. Sounds like far too much effort and work.

"Please, Bambi?" she wheedles, pulling out the nickname for extra effect. "It's really, really important to me. Really exciting. Look, I'll.. I'll even help you with your homework, alright?"

She's going to regret promising that later, but for now she really just needs to spill to somebody - and it doesn't feel quite the same over the phone.

"Oh, I suppose a few hours won't hurt..."

"You're the best friend ever," Skye says warmly, but Jemma only laughs from her end of the line.

"I'll see you in a minute, Skye."

...

"So.. Grant Ward actually asked you out," Jemma begins slowly. She still looks slightly bewildered from her usual spot in Skye's desk chair, sitting on it backwards with her arms slung over the back of it. On the other hand, Skye's far too excited to stay still, alternating between flopping on her bed and pacing around the room.

"Yes!" she exclaims for the millionth time. "Weird, right? I mean, I'm just Skye. Nothing special." Well, now she's talking to herself more than anything, but to be honest she just can't help it.

"Well, yes, I suppose it is rather weird," Jemma begins to muse, until Skye sends her an indignant glare and she hastens to correct herself quickly. "Oh, not like that! You're pretty and smart and talented, Skye, you _know_ that. But it's just rather curious because.. well, it's _Grant Ward._ He could get any girl he wanted - not that you aren't lovely, of course. I'm just saying.. Ward's a bit of a.. well..." she pauses then, and Skye has to stare insistently at her.

"He's just a bit of a what?"

"Well, he's just.. he has a reputation, that's all," she says finally, looking slightly hesitant. "I know you really like him, but he's not someone who.. who has a steady relationship. He.. well.. it's more about... about.. _physical activities_ for him."

"You can say the word, Jemma," Skye sighs finally, eventually opting for collapsing on the bed and staring at the sky-blue (Phil had found himself _so_ hilarious when he'd painted it that colour) ceiling.

"You're not.. you're not mad at me?"

"No," Skye admits, although she doesn't turn her head to look at her friend, instead inhaling the familiar smells of her pillow. "I've had enough of fighting with you. It's no fun. It's just.. what if you're right?"

"What?" Jemma says, clearly bewildered. Obviously, she'd been expecting another angry row.

"I mean.. I know he's not one for dating. But..." and here she pauses, "but I really like him. And.. I think he likes me too, you know? When he was asking me about it today, he seemed really shy. It was really cute, you know-"

"-actually, no I don't," Jemma interrupts unhelpfully. Skye ignores her anyway.

"And.. I.. I don't know. I just don't want my heart broken again. Not like.. like Miles."

It's then that she feels a comforting hand on her shoulder, and the shifting weight of her bed indicates that Jemma's taken a seat on her mattress.

"What happened to Miles," Jemma says forcefully, "isn't going to happen to you."

"You can't promise that," Skye points out dully, twisting her head to look at her best friend.

"No, I can't," she agrees lightly, giving a nod to Skye. "But I can go beat him up, if you'd like."

"Beat him up?" At this, Skye can't help but burst out into unsteady giggles, laughs that only get worse once Jemma shoots her an indignant look. "Have you seen yourself, Bambi? I doubt that you could successfully hurt a_ fly_."

"Fine," Jemma sniffs, but it's obvious that she's clearly teasing because a moment later she gives a loud laugh and she nudges Skye's foot playfully. "Okay, maybe I wouldn't be able to go ahead and win any fights. But I'd get someone to do it for me, I'm sure. Trip, maybe."

"Ooh, I'm sure he would do that for _you._"

"Shut up, Skye!"

Why is it these conversations always end with a pillow being thrown at her?

...

"I lied."

Skye's splayed out on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling with her eyes glazed and curiously trying to count the number of spots on the paint (there's five - hadn't there been six this morning? She can't honestly remember), but this time it's for a completely different reason.

"What?" Jemma stares curiously at her from over her laptop and pile of teetering homework assignments (she really hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said she had so much homework to do), clearly bewildered. It's an expression she's been seeing on her friend quite a lot recently.

"I lied," Skye repeats, before deciding to explain further. "About your homework. I can't. Help you, I mean. I don't even understand the 'easy stuff' as you seem to put it. Sorry."

To her surprise, Jemma laughs. "I know, Skye. I knew that you would never be able to help me with my homework. I'm not that gullible."

Skye smiles sweetly at her from behind her phone, where she's now taken to texting Grant various smiley faces.

"You're the bestest friend in the entire world, you know that, right?"

"If you're trying to get me to do your homework, flattery won't work."

"You're really amazing and I love you and you're the best, best person ever to walk through this house?"

Laughing; "Okay, I'll think about it."

...

"Jemma, I've changed my mind. I'm nervous again!"

Blearily, her friend's voice sounds weary and confused (the type of confusion that you get from having been woken up very suddenly) even over the phone. "Skye? It's... midnight!"

"Yes, yes, I know," Skye interrupts impatiently. She knows full well, the digital clock on her dresser flashes _12:07_ menacingly at her.

"Skye..." her voice is slow; rather unlike her normally clever tone. Sleep deprived Jemma is a rather slow Jemma, Skye decides quickly. "Have you gotten any sleep tonight?"

Or perhaps not so slow Jemma. How can she possibly tell what Skye's been doing even over the phone? Maybe she's installed some sort of camera in her room? She's even about to go and check her room now, before she realises that it's probably the lack of sleep and far too much caffeine messing with her mind. _Although I wouldn't put it past her, sneaky little bird,_ she snorts to herself.

"Okay, no, maybe not too much," she admits, a tad sheepishly. "But I really need help, Bambi! I don't know what to do!"

"Okay.." Jemma even sounds weary, and Skye can just imagine her sitting down on her bed and running her hands through her bed-frazzled hair. "Um... Skye, I don't have much experience with boys.."

"I know," Skye whines. "I know you've probably never dated before, but I can't exactly call Bobbi about this, can-"

"Hang on, I've dated before!" Her voice suddenly sounds suspiciously alert - indignant no doubt. "I'll have you know that I've dated plenty before!"

"Really?" She can't keep the shock from her voice, which only seems to make Jemma more irritated (_hmm.. she's rather short-tempered when she's sleepy_).

"Skye, I'm perfectly able to date! I have a relatively-"

"Symmetrical body shape, yes, yes," Skye interrupts (again). "Can we focus on _my_ problem, please?"

"Right. Yes. Sorry."

They sit in silence for what seems to be the longest time, and Skye's eyes automatically flick up to the ceiling to count the dots, but it's too dark now to see anything.

"Wait! I've got an idea!"

There's a vague sounding squeak from the other end of the line. "Skye, you're going to wake up my parents!"

"Right. Sorry." But she's not that sorry - not really, anyway. "But listen, I've got an idea! How about.. we have a double date?"

There's an uncomfortably long pause on the other end, one so long that Skye almost huffs right into Jemma's ear. "A.. double date?"

For a genius, sometimes Jemma really can be quite clueless. "Yeah."

"Skye, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Well, obviously not," Skye states, rolling her eyes so hard she's sure Jemma can see her from the other end. "But we could get you one. Just for one night. You and Fitz, maybe?"

There's vague spluttering from the other end of the phone, and Skye has to hold back a smirk (although she's not sure why; she's on a phone). "Me and- oh, no, Fitz and I are just friends. Really. Truly."

"Not Fitz then. But... someone else. Please, pretty please! It's just for one date, just for dinner, please!" She's whining now, but she can't care less. Honestly, when Skye sets her mind on something, she's quite stubborn.

"Well..."

"You're my best friend, Bambi!" There. She knows that will cave Jemma - using the nickname almost always works. It's a guarantee - honestly, Skye should write a book: _101 Ways For Caving Jemma Simmons_.

Sure enough, there's a heavy sigh from the other girl. "Okay, fine. But I don't see how you're going to get me a date, Skye."

"Yay! You're the best, Jemma!"

There's only more grumbling from the other end of the line.

"And trust me," Skye continues with a wicked grin, "I know _just_ the person."

...

"Hey, Trip?"

"What's up?"

"You know my friend - that pretty, smart girl who you totally had eyes for?"

"Vaguely, yes."

"Hey, stop chuckling at me like that! Anyway, would you object if you two were to go on a date? Or more specifically, a double date with me and Grant?"

"Does Jemma actually have a say in this, Skye?"

"Yes... Sort of. Maybe. Peer pressure. I don't know, but she won't mind, I promise! I mean, it's not like you're bad looking anyway-"

"At least buy me a drink first."

"-and I'm pretty sure she likes you. So, please? Pretty please?"

"Okay, Skye."

"Great! You're the second best person in the entire world!"

"Only second best?"

"I already promised the title to Jemma."

"Fair enough."

...

"I can't believe you set me up with Triplett, Skye," Jemma says, blushing as she swings back and forth on the child's swing.

"Easy peasy," Skye grins, as she gives a wave of her hand to exaggerate her point. "Anyway, I wasn't joking about the other day. I think he actually does like you. If it goes well, maybe you'll be thanking me for setting up a relationship."

"You think?" Jemma asks, slightly shyly - it's a strange look on Jemma, Skye reflects.

"Yeah."

"And what if he breaks my heart?" she teases.

"I'll go and beat him up," Skye jokes in return. "I've got your back, Jemma."

...

Skye's just getting far too excited about their dinner (which actually has date and time, now!) when there's a knock on her front door and she practically flies down the steps to greet her friend (because only Jemma knows the secret knock).

When she throws open the door, however, she's surprised to see her friend in tears, crying it out on her front porch and obviously trying to wipe it away hurriedly.

"Where's your dad?" Jemma stumbles through her tears.

"Out," Skye says absent-mindedly, drawing her friend inside as quick as she can manage (the neighbours love to stick their noses in everybody else's business). "What's wrong, Jemma?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jemma apologises even as the tears are spilling from her eyes. "I didn't mean-"

"Jemma, I don't care," Skye interrupts more forcefully. "Tell me what happened."

But her friend just shakes her head and cries even harder, so Skye sits her down on the couch and rushes off to make some tea for her friend (poorly-made, most likely. Even years of watching May prepare her own haven't built her own tea-making skills), and a misshapen biscuit (Phil's horrid attempts at trying to be one of _those_ dads) and sits them down in front of her friend.

"Spill," she says, but it's gentler this time.

"It's Fitz," Jemma hiccups when she's finally calmed down enough to speak. "We.. we had a row."

"You fought?" Skye frowns. "What about?"

At this, Jemma musters a bitter smile. "I told him about the double date. He doesn't.. doesn't like Triplett. Doesn't trust him. And he.. I mean, we.." She stares at the tea swirling in her mug and trails off, and Skye suddenly envelops her in a very tight hug.

"Oh, Bambi," she sighs. "Boys, huh?"

"Boys," Jemma agrees tearfully.

...

It's really quite fortunate when Skye sees him at the park the next day. Well, perhaps not so fortunate for Fitz, but it certainly helps_ her_, in any case. He's just sitting there alone, with a laptop perched on his legs and a few books by his side, taking up most of the park bench space. It's clear that he's not expecting anybody else.

Which is kind of odd, Skye realises. It's a Saturday evening, why isn't he hanging out with his friends like a normal teenager?

Upon spotting the Scottish welp - that is_ so_ what she's going to call him now - she quickly diverts Jemma's attention with bad lies and vague pointing. "Look, an ice cream store!" she says far-too-brightly, pulling out her puppy eyes an eager expression. "You should go and grab some!"

Thankfully, Jemma doesn't spot Fitz, but her features narrow in confusion anyway. "Ice cream? Skye, it's going to rain any minute now."

"But.._ ice cream_," Skye whines desperately. "Can you please, please go and grab some for us?"

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Because you're my best friend and I love you?"

"Oh, okay," Jemma relents with a laugh. "Caramel cone, right?"

"One and only," Skye grins in return, and soon Jemma's gone, rifling around for some money. Heaving a sigh of relief, she turns away to focus on Fitz again, and after throwing a careful look to check on Jemma, she hurries over to him. Skye doesn't exactly like going behind Jemma's back, but at least this one is for a slightly better reason. After all, she has to find out how and why Fitz had made Jemma cry so much.

"Alright, I thought you were kind of okay the one time I met you," Skye says as she finally draws to a stop in front of him, "but now I think you're just kind of a dick."

Fitz looks up with a surprised face, like he's asking, _wait, are you talking to me? _"Skye?"

"Oh," she pauses then, "so you remember me?"

"Yeah," he nods, still seeming bewildered as he closes his laptop to talk to her. "Jemma's friend, right?"

"Yeah," she nods, before giving him a mean look (or at least, she hopes it's mean. Maybe she ought to take lessons from May). "Better friend then you are."

"What?"

"She turned up at my house in tears," Skye exclaims exasperatedly. Seriously, hadn't Jemma said he was smart? This guy seems so clueless that she wants to shake some sense into him. "Because of you! Because she wanted to go on a _date_! Seriously, are you jealous or something?"

Fitz's features sour immediately and he opens up his laptop to return determinedly back to work. After taking in his bitter expression, she can't help but laugh loudly, something that only makes the corners of his mouth curl down.

"Oh my god," she giggles. "You _are_! You're jealous!"

"It's perfectly reasonable," Fitz snaps defensively. "She's my best friend and my lab partner, I can't exactly finish up our assignments if she's off... off... gallivanting with _Triplett_."

"_Gallivanting_?" Skye asks sceptically, before she shakes her head and decides not to say any more on that particular matter. "Anyway, the point is.. you''re jealous."

"I think we already got that bit."

"No, but not just jealous. _Jealous_," Skye stresses with a maniacal grin. "As in, boyfriend jealous."

"I'm not her boyfriend," Fitz retorts, staring forcefully at his laptop screen.

"Oh, no, but you like her," she crows happily, unable to stop her continuous bubbles of laughter. "Aw.. Fitz."

"There's something wrong with your head," Fitz responds.

"I think I'll let you off for being adorable," Skye decides with a grin, before she falters and goes back to being serious - because no matter how adorable her new discovery is, Fitz made Jemma cry (only Skye's allowed to make her cry - and she doesn't enjoy doing that). "But it's too late for you, Fitz. You were being a.. a prick, so now she's going with Trip. I suggest that if you really like her maybe you need to tell her about it. I know you two are all.. physically linked and everything, but sometimes Bambi can be a bit thick."

Up ahead, she spots a familiar brown-haired girl beginning to make her way back with ice creams in her hands. Grinning at Fitz, she holds her hand up in a small wave. "Well, I've gotta run. Oh, and Fitz? I suggest maybe not making her cry. I think Trip's beating you on that little front."

She doesn't stop to take in Fitz's shellshocked expression (although she's certain it's _hilarious_), instead running back over to Jemma with a stupid smile on her face. She plucks an ice cream from her grasp easily and laughs. "Mmm, I love caramel."

"Skye, why do you look so happy?" Jemma asks curiously, looking slightly bewildered as she chews on her plastic spoon. "Who were you talking to back there?"

"No one," Skye says airily, marching off at a quick pace down the road. The further away from Fitz, the better.

"No one? What were you talking about?" Jemma demands suspiciously.

"Nothing," she returns mysteriously, revelling in her own little secrets. "Only.. all's fair in love and war."

"_What_? Skye, that makes absolutely no sense at all?"

"Makes sense to me."

"Tell me what you were talking about!"

"I really do like caramel, you know."

"Skye!"

"It's like, really sweet and.. caramell-y."

"Honestly, Skye! Why are being so secretive?"

"Secretive? Me? Pfft, _no_."


End file.
